Head of Commercial

Newcastle upon Tyne Source: WhatJobs

£90,000–£130,000

Location: Middlesbrough, Newcastle or Felixstowe

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced commercial leader to join a well-established international logistics business as Head of Commercial/Commercial Director

This is a newly created senior appointment and represents an excellent opportunity for an ambitious commercial professional to take ownership of the UK commercial strategy and play a key role at Board level.

The successful candidate will be responsible for driving profitable growth across the UK, developing new markets and opportunities, strengthening customer relationships and leading the wider commercial and sales function.

This is a genuinely strategic role, combining commercial leadership, business development, pricing, customer strategy and margin management, with significant exposure to the wider UK Board.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and deliver the UK commercial strategy, supporting sustainable revenue and margin growth.
Lead the UK sales, business development and customer relationship strategy.
Identify and develop new markets, customers and areas of commercial opportunity.
Oversee pricing strategy, contract negotiations and commercial terms.
Take ownership of commercial performance, profitability and margin development.
Develop and implement marketing initiatives aligned with the wider UK strategy.
Lead, motivate and develop the wider sales and commercial team.
Work closely with Operations to ensure commercial commitments can be delivered effectively and profitably.
Evaluate major tenders, opportunities and new business proposals.
Monitor market trends, competitor activity and customer requirements to identify opportunities for growth.
Provide regular commercial performance updates to the UK Board.
Contribute to wider business strategy and decision-making as a member of the UK Board.
Travel regularly across UK offices, customers and operational locations as required.

About You

We are looking for an established commercial leader with a strong track record within freight forwarding, logistics or a closely related sector.

You will ideally bring:

Significant commercial and sales leadership experience within the freight and logistics sector.
Strong knowledge across Sea, Air and Road freight.
A proven track record of developing new business and growing existing customer relationships.
Experience of pricing, contract negotiation and commercial risk management.
Strong understanding of margins, profitability and commercial performance.
Experience managing and developing a sales or commercial team.
The ability to work closely with operational teams and translate commercial strategy into deliverable solutions.
Strong presentation and stakeholder management skills.
Experience dealing with senior customers and decision-makers.
A strategic mindset combined with the ability to remain commercially hands-on.
Experience within project logistics, Breakbulk, Multimodal or other complex freight movements would be highly advantageous.
Experience selling or developing warehousing and associated logistics solutions would also be beneficial.